This undated photo provided by the office of US District Judge Martin L. C. Feldman shows Judge Feldman. (AP Photo/Office of U.S. District Judge Martin L.C. Feldman)

(Newser)
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The Louisiana judge who struck down the Obama administration's six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has extensive investments in the oil and gas industry. US District Judge Martin Feldman, a 1983 Reagan appointee, in 2008 reported owning less than $15,000 in stock in Transocean, the company that owned the sunken Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

Feldman's 2008 financial disclosure report, the most recent available, also showed investments in Ocean Energy, a Houston-based company, as well as Quicksilver Resources, Prospect Energy, Peabody Energy, Halliburton, Pengrowth Energy Trust, Atlas Energy Resources, Parker Drilling, and others. Feldman did not respond to requests for comment and to clarify whether he still holds some or all of these investments. The White House plans to appeal his ruling, and environmental groups have called his investments "a flagrant conflict of interest."

Feldman's 2008 disclosure form indicates that in that year, he owned stock in Transocean, the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon rig, as well as in other oil companies which would be affected by the moratorium.[3] A federal judge is required to consider recusal when he owns shares in one of the parties in the case before him.

OWLWOMANXXXX

Jun 23, 2010 8:04 PM CDT

we are now so worried about the greedy oil companies profits, we have forgotten about all the disrupted fish and tourist industries loss.....drilling is passe....and we need to come up with sustainable and better means of getting our energy.....that would be what you call progress.....cut down on your oil and gas use and let the mideast and big oil companies know that we are not supporting them any more....just like we are tired of supporting the Insurance companies follies